The Forbidden Ones
by Reflection of a Broken Dream
Summary: The Forbidden Ones Kagome's life is being turned upside down. Her reiki is attacking her own body at regular intervals, wearing her down. Her mom and Ji-san know what's wrong, but they're not telling her. In fact, there are a lot of things they aren't telling her... Kagome x ?
1. Chapter 1

**The Forbidden Ones**

**Author: Reflection of a Broken Dream**

**Pairing: It's a Surprise!**

**Quick Note:**

\- This is a different style of fanfic from my other ones...but I hope ya'll enjoy it nonetheless. :D

\- This _is _a crossover, but it's going to take a little time to get to the actual crossover part.  
(Inuyasha x Yu Yu Hakusho)

\- Please Review!

\- Hikari = Kagome's mom  
\- Kurogane = Kagome's Ji-san or Gramps  
\- Kyota = Kagome's deceased dad, Hikari's late husband, Kurogane's deceased son

**Japanese Words**:

**Reiki **\- Spirit Energy

**Rekai **\- Spirit World

**Kami **\- God

**Youki **\- Demon Energy

**Youkai **\- Demon

**Inu **\- Dog

**Nekomata **\- Mythical Two-Tailed Cat

**Kitsune **\- Fox Demon

**Kit **\- Kitsune Child

**Makai **\- Demon World

**Hanyou **\- Half Demon

**Ningen **\- Human

**Ji-San **\- What Kagome Calls Her Grandpa

**Ningenkai **\- Human World

**Taijiya **\- Demon Slayer

**Monk **\- Priest

**Miko **\- Priestess

**Edo **\- Fuedal Era Tokyo

**Ikadekimasu **\- Thank You For The Meal

**Udon **\- A Japanese Noodle Dish

(Udon usually consists of Udon noodles, a dab of wasabi, shredded nori, and thinly chopped green onion. There are many variations of it including kitsune oden, which has a square of fried and simmered tofu on top of a bowl of hot udon, and tsukimi (moon viewing), which has an egg in it. I used a basic version for this fic so it's easy to re-heat.)

(I had Oden down, but I didn't research it like I should have and I got it _way _wrong. Deebeth89 left an informative review- thank you so much deebeth89!- that set me straight and I did the research I needed to do. I read up on recipies and decided on Udon because, as I wrote above, this one is easier to re-heat. I'm a very basic home cook, and I know little to nothing about sea food, so I have _no _idea how to treat it to re-heat it. Thank you again, deebeth89, and I'm sorry for any inconvieniences!)

**Disclaimer**:

I Don't Own Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, the characters, plots, owners, etc.

The only thing I own is this story line...and that's just fine. :)

**The Forbidden Ones**

**Chapter 1: When Reiki Attacks...**

It was happening again.

Kagome let out a shudder as a ripple of her own reiki washed over her. It was accompanied by a frosty chill...that slowly fazed into scorching heat. Then, just as quickly as the odd sensations had come, they faded away. Her reiki went back to normal and she felt completely fine. '_Five minutes_,' Kagome noted to herself with worry as her bright blue eyes upturned from her heavy duty black wristwatch. '_It's getting longer_...' Wary blue eyes shifted to Miroku, who quickly turned his gaze away from her, then to Inuyasha. Her half-breed friend was openly staring at her. A darker blush painted her already heated pink cheeks as she turned her gaze to the ground as they continued to traverse the plain that they were currently travelling through.

It had all started about a year ago, when Kagome had started having random fluxes in her reiki (the energy that was teeming just beneath her skin). It was slight at first, just a quick spike of her reiki when it passed over her body...but then the fluxes became stronger and longer and had added...side-effects. Sometimes it was the feeling of being hot and cold (one fazing to the other) and other times it was the heightening of her senses...like her ability to sense youki, her sense of smell, her sight, hearing, taste, touch... It was strange, to say the least...and she had no idea why it was happening. Nothing had changed... She hadn't trained with her reiki...at least, not in the beginning. She had started about six months ago, learning some tricks from Miroku and Kaede to keep her energy under control...or at least as much of it as she could manage. And she hadn't re-absorbed Kikyo's half of the soul, so it's not like she was suddenly given a bunch of unstable energy to deal with. Naraku hadn't messed with them at that point in time and she was sure he hadn't messed with _her_\- he would have made his move by now. So...Kagome was clueless. She'd done research into the issue- _extensive _research- both in her time _and _in the Fuedal Era. Kaede and the others had never heard of such a thing happening...neither had her mother or her Ji-san. She'd scoured through countless books and scrolls and had asked countless mikos and monks in both time periods...but her search had been fruitless.

Kagome sighed as she peered up at the cloudy September sky, a chilly breeze wafting through the travelling group. She would have shivered six or seven minutes ago, but now it felt good to her cooling cheeks...

"Are you alright, Kagome?" Sango asked softly as she quickly moved to stride beside the surprised girl.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Kagome asked in return, putting a smile on for show.

"You went so pale that I thought you were going to pass out...before you went bright red, like you had a fever," Sango elaborated, her dark gaze holding worry for the miko. "Like when you have those attacks of yours..." That's what they decided to call her little episodes when her reiki decided to act up...all because Miroku had commented that it was like her reiki was attacking her body...which was an impossibility in itself. She had nothing within her that needed purifying...unless maybe her body was reacting to the taint of the jewel and was using a new method to keep it purified. That was always a possibility...one that had been spoken of, but couldn't really be researched due to an unfortunate lack of material and knowledge of the previous owners (mikos and monks, that is) of the jewel.

"I...," Kagome hesitated, shifting her line of sight to the ground. She kicked a rock as she sighed. Sango couldn't sense the changes in her like Inuyasha, Miroku, Shippou, and Kilala could...but she was becoming more observant. "I kinda had one..." Kagome's voice was but a murmer when she admitted it. She always felt oddly ashamed of her little...attacks.

"Why didn't you say something? We could take a break if you need it," Sango offered, worry seeping into her voice.

"I-I'm fine," Kagome waved off as she stammered slightly. "I've gotten used to it, so it's not so bad. I can keep going." The first few times she'd had the attacks with side-effects, they were crippling. She _literally _couldn't continue marching on...but she was stronger now. Kagome could handle the side-effects with little to no difficulties..._and _some of the after-effects, too...fainting disincluded. She couldn't get around _that _one... The after-effects included: fatigue, headache, dizziness, vertigo, heaviness of the body, nausea, crankiness, and, sometimes, fainting. (Not limited to those things, but not all of them happen _every _time.)

"You sure?" a voice shot at her. It took her a moment to figure out that it had come from Inuyasha, the man eying her warily. "You're not going to pass out on us or anything, are you...?"

"No, I'm _fine_," Kagome reassured more firmly, her cheeks heating again as she remembered the last time she'd had an attack. The pain was so bad that she'd blacked out right after it... "A little tired, but I'm perfectly fine." He slowly nodded but kept an eye on her, she noticed. He didn't believe her. Kagome couldn't help the tick of irritation she felt at the hanyou. "I could always go home if you don't believe me. We're pretty close to Edo..."

"Feh. Do what you want, wench," Inuyasha snorted in reply, finally turning his golden gaze away from her form. Kagome felt anger bubbling beneath her skin as she tried to remain calm.

_'That's __**fine**_,' Kagome snapped back in her mind. She'd meant to irritate _him _with the offer to go home...but it had backfired. She might as well go on home now... _'Mom always wants to know when these attacks happen, anyway...' _Her mom had been progressively getting more and more worried about her attacks; she would even tell Kagome to come straight home when they happened...but she couldn't always do that. She just got lucky this time...

"May I borrow Kilala?" Kagome asked Sango with a strained smile as she quickly turned back to the older girl.

"Sure," Sango nodded, a pitying look in her eyes that made Kagome feel all the worse about the whole thing. _'She thinks I'm using the fight as a cover to go home and rest_,' Kagome silently sighed in frustration. Sango turned back to Kilala, the nekomata trotting behind them, her two tails swishing animatedly behind her. Atop the large cat's back, Shippou lay fast asleep. Kagome was grateful- she couldn't handle _another _person thinking that she was incapacitated when she clearly _wasn't_... "Here..." Sango gently transferred the sleeping kitsune to her own arms, the boy only slightly stirring before nestling into the taijiya.

"Are you really leaving?" Inuyasha asked, disbelief in his voice.

"You said I could go," Kagome countered as she gently ran her hands through Kilala's soft white fur before she boarded the firecat.

"I was being sarcastic," Inuyasha shot back at her as her angry blue orbs caught his irritated golden eyes. "You can't go. We've got to resupply at Kaede's and head out again tomorrow."

"That's fine. I'll be back in the morning, then, Inuyasha," Kagome smoothly argued. "I'll resupply my backpack at my house and be back as soon as I get up and get dressed tomorrow morning." She may not have wanted to go home just yet, but her backpack _did _need refilling...

"But-!" Inuyasha started, not one to drop an arguement.

"Let it go, Inuyasha," Miroku advised, shaking his head as he caught the hanyou's sleeve. Kagome blinked in surprise at the monk. "Letting Kagome go now will save us time- we'll be ready to go sooner in the morning than if we were to let her go home a few hours tomorrow."

"Feh," Inuyasha grumbled as he snatched his sleeve back and turned away from Miroku, his point actually a good one. Kagome couldn't help but feel grateful for his help.

"Rest well tonight, Lady Kagome," Miroku spoke up again, turning back to the surprised miko. His violet eyes held sympathy and an odd sense of understanding. Beneath all of his perverseness...he was pretty wise. Kagome got the feeling that he _might _just understand what she was going through... "We'll need you in top form tomorrow, resuming the search for the jewel shards."

"...Right...," Kagome agreed slowly with a nod as the surprise wore off. "Thanks, Miroku." She smiled at the monk. "And Sango and Kilala." She ruffled the firecat's fur as Kilala purred back at her. Miroku gave a nod of acknowledgement.

"You're welcome," Sango nodded to her with a small smile. Kagome nodded back to the taijiya, a bit more at ease than before.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Kagome spoke to all of them, getting a polite farewell from both Sango and Miroku. Inuyasha stayed silent, but that was fine with her. She didn't care so much for his input at the moment... With a soft growl and a leap, Kilala had taken to the cool blue skies and Kagome gripped her fur a little tighter, her backpack pulling her backwards a little with the gravity of the leap. It didn't take long for the little group to escape the sight of the airborne miko.

"I still say she should have stayed," Inuyasha harumphed as soon as she was well out of sight and earshot.

"Idiot!" Miroku chided, keeping his voice soft enough that Shippou wouldn't wake from the insult. The softness of his tone made the remark no less sharp, though.

"What-!" Inuyasha started and stopped, interrupted.

"She's probably suffering from the attacks more than she shows," Miroku scolded with a deep frown. "Her spiritual energy, her reiki, is _physically attacking _her body. Each time it happens, it spans for longer periods of time and it seems to attack her more frantically. It drains her power and leaves her physically and mentally exhausted." He paused, letting them absorb the information. "Imagine your body being attacked by your own youki, Inuyasha. You can't fend it off, and it saps all of your energy while also causing you bodily harm. _That _is what Kagome is going through."

"Don't you think I _know _that?" Inuyasha growled back at the monk, his golden eyes narrowed and showing a hint of worry alongside his frustrated anger. "I just...don't know how to make it better. We've searched in this era and she's searched in her era, but _nothing _is coming up; no solution for her attacks. ...Making her angry is better than watching her waste away until she falls asleep..." There was a long moment of silence that followed Inuyasha's arguement, both Sango and Miroku understanding the helplessness of the situation that he was feeling. After every attack, they all noticed that Kagome would become progressively wearier and wearier until she took a nap or went to sleep for the night...and she would always wake up in _much _better shape than when she went sleep.

"I understand why you angered her, but that's not exactly a good thing, either," Miroku gently consoled. "It makes her wearier...and in more of a foul mood."

"...Mnnn...I know...," Inuyasha sighed, his ears bowing slightly with his sorrow and worry. Another silent pause wore on the weary group.

"Well...standing here worrying about her isn't helping _anyone_," Sango finally spoke up, shifting the sleeping kit in her arms a little. "Let's get back to Kaede's hut- we've still got a little ways to walk before we reach Inuyasha's Forest." With that, Sango started walking forwards again. Miroku smiled warmly before a more mischievious grin took residence on his face. He moved so that he was in-stride beside Sango and Inuyasha quickly walked to the head of the group, knowing _that _smirk. It didn't take long for Inuyasha to hear the tell-tale rubbing of fabric that indicated that the monk had molested the taijiya..._again_...and then a loud smacking sound reverberated loudly through the open plain.

_**'How **__can he sleep through that_?' Inuyasha asked himself silently, referring the snoring kitsune kit in Sango's arms, the taijiya and monk arguing over the little 'mishap'.

"Stupid monk...," Shippou uttered softly in his sleep as Inuyasha looked back at the kit in surprise, the boy turning over in Sango's arm. The taijiya was unaware of the utterance and barely aware that he had turned to get more comfortable in her arms. After listening to Shippou breathe a moment, Inuyasha deduced that the kit was still dead out. He couldn't help but smirk- despite his worrying over Kagome- as his golden eyes found the road ahead of them again, the forest _just _coming into sight.

_'Maybe we're just overthinking this_...,' Inuyasha sighed in his mind as his eyes strayed to the fluffy white clouds overhead. The lowering rays of sunlight danced off the white clouds, coloring them in many different shades of pink, red, orange, and purple. _'Everything will be fine. It __**always **__is. We'll find a cure for her little attacks and everything will go back to normal. It __**has **__to...__**she **__has to.'_

"Thanks, Kilala," Kagome sighed as they reached the well, the last vestiges of sunlight lighting the darkening land. She slid her feet to the ground as soon as Kilala landed...and she regretted that move when she lurched forwards, unable to right herself. Kilala caught her before she could fall, the large nekomata's head stabling her. "Oh...thank you..." Kagome let out a shaky breath, feeling drained and dizzy. The after-effects (that she had often tried to hide from her friends) had hit her a little later than normal... Kilala let out a worried mewl, her large crimson eyes showing the emotion that she couldn't properly voice. "I'm fine, Kilala, I promise." Kagome smiled tightly at the large cat. Her whole body felt like lead... "I just need to rest." Kilala nodded but stayed close. Kagome felt grateful for the firecat's help as she unsteadily stepped over to the well with her help and slowly straddled the lip. "I'll be back bright and early tomorrow, alright? See you then." Giving the loyal cat a loving pet, Kagome allowed herself to fall backwards into the Bone Eater's Well. The welcoming blue lights enveloped her as she shut her eyes, the dizzy feeling growing as she fell down, down, down into the well. Kagome felt like she was spinning, even though she knew she was falling straight down. Her stomach lurched and it took everything Kagome had to keep her lunch in her belly. Finally, it stopped. She stopped falling and the dizzy feeling started to ebb away. Kagome shivered against the cool ground beneath her pink-jacketed back as she slowly opened her eyes to the darkness of the well in her era.

"_Finally_...," Kagome sighed, allowing herself a moment to fully get over the dizziness. When she was sure that she wouldn't be hit with vertigo, she very slowly, very carefully, got to her feet. "Oh..." She stumbled over her large feet and caught herself against the side of the well. "I forgot how tired I get after those stupid attacks...my body feels like lead..."

"Eh? Kagome? Is that you?" an elderly male's voice called down the well. Kagome sighed softly to herself.

"Yeah, Ji-san," Kagome called back as she looked up, unable to see the white-haired man. She noticed, however, that the ladder wasn't in the well... "Hey...where's the rope ladder?"

"Hang on a moment...," her gramps called back. After a moment of waiting and listening to the rustling sounds of him moving around, his head appeared over the top of the well. "Watch your head!" Kagome moved back as he dropped the ladder into the well, the loud sound of the ladder hitting the rocks making her ears ring as the dizzy feeling swept over her again. She gripped the far side of the well to stay steady.

"Thanks, gramps," Kagome called up to him before taking a breath and moving over to the ladder as casually as she could manage. Then she was hefting her heavy body up the ladder, towards the lip of the well.

"No problem," he called back, squinting at her, she noticed. "Are you alright? You're moving sort of funny...like you're hurt..."

"I'm fine," Kagome reassured, her cheeks heated in embarrassment that he'd found her out. When she had said 'I forgot how tired I get after those stupid attacks...my body feels like lead', she had mumbled, the sound not loud enough to even echo up the well and to his ears. Even if it _had _echoed up to him, by some miracle, she was sure that he wouldn't have been able to hear it- his hearing was getting _pretty _bad... "Just really _really _tired..."

"Hm...," her gramps hummed back. Kagome made it to the top of the well and he caught her hand and helped her over the top of it. "Did you happen to have another one of your attacks?" Kagome blinked at the man in surprise, the whites of his dark eyes practically glowing in the dark. _'How...how did he figure it out_.._.?'_ Kagome asked herself silently. '_In the dark, no less_...'

"W-Why do you say that?" Kagome asked with a nervous smile.

"You don't look quite right," her gramps spoke outright. "Your skin is far paler than normal and you move like your body weighs a ton. You look and act the same after your attacks..." Kagome mentally cursed his surprisingly sharp wit on the subject.

"Well...okay, I...I _did _have an attack," Kagome admitted somewhat hesitantly. "But I'm alright...just a little tired."

"Hmmm...okay," Ji-san surprised her. "Let me help you inside and then you need to eat and go right to bed. Don't bother with a bath tonight, you can get one in the morning."

"Umm...alright...," Kagome managed to reply as he slipped an arm around her waist, the other holding onto her left arm. He gently helped her up the steps of the wellhouse, towards the slight bit of light coming in through the slits in the top of the door. _'Since when did Ji-san get so strong...?' _Kagome wondered to herself as they made it to the top. His grip was firm and steadying. '_Or...is it just because I feel so weak...?' _Her blue eyes turned to the focused man as he opened the door of the wellhouse and then carefully helped her onto the shrine grounds. _'It's got to be me_,' Kagome concluded as Ji-san shut the door behind them and then gently took hold of her again and re-directed her towards the house. _'No way is my old Ji-san __**really **__this strong. I'm just weak from the attack...as much as I hate to admit __**that**_...' She brooded a little as they entered the house.

"Hikari, dear, where are you?" Ji-san called as he shut the front door behind them. "Kagome is back...she's had another one of her attacks."

"Ohhh...," Kagome groaned. _'Why did he have to say __**that**__?' _she groused mentally. '_Mom's going to be __**all **__over me and she won't leave me alone until I go to sleep...' _Just as Kagome had feared, her mom appeared from kami-knows-where and immediately took up her gramp's position, fussing over her.

"Are you alright, dear? You look pale...," Hikari, Kagome's mother, started in on her worrying. "Have you eaten? No, it doesn't matter. You need to eat again to keep your strength up. Let's get you to the kitchen and I'll re-heat a little of the leftover udon we had for supper..."

"Udon?" Kagome perked up. She didn't particularly like being fussed over...but udon would _definately _sweeten the deal. (It was her second favorite dish her mom made.) "Okay..." She went along with her mother to the kitchen, the girl completely unaware of her gramp's very serious gaze that followed her until they turned the corner to get to the kitchen, hiding her from view.

"Here we are...," Hikari got her daughter seated and her jacket off before busying herself with the task of re-heating the udon. She pulled the covered metal pot from the refrigerator before shutting the door. She then uncovered the pot and spooned a generous amount of noodles and vegetables into a small pot and put it on a burner on the stovetop. She turned the knob and the flame in the gas burner flickered to life. With a nod and a smile, she added some salt and water to the heating udon before returning the large pot of cold udon to the fridge. Then Hikari turned back to her weary daughter. "Are you feeling alright, Kagome? You look worn out..."

"I am," Kagome sighed out as she met her mother's worried dark orbs. "But I'll be alright. I always am after resting for a while." Hikari nodded knowingly.

"What happened when you had your attack?" Hikari questioned lightly. "Was it your senses again? And what happened afterwards? Did you get dizzy again? Nauseous?"

"Umm...," Kagome started, stopping her mother's nervous rambling. "The attack...I went from freezing cold to feeling like my body was on fire before it stopped and I went back to normal."

"How long did the attack last?" Hikari asked gently but expectantly.

"Five minutes," Kagome admitted with hesitation, watching her mother's expression of worry deepen.

"That's longer than the last time you were home...," she noted aloud. Kagome could only nod. "When was the last time you had an attack?" Kagome had to think about it a moment before answering.

"Four days ago...or was it five...?" she mused aloud, unaware that her mother's expression had turned startled. "...Mmm...it was five days."

"So close together...," Hikari noted. Kagome could only nod. The one before that had occured about a week before the one five days ago. "What happened with that one?"

"I had an increased sense of smell...I thought my head was going to explode," Kagome remembered with a grimance. "I passed out after it- it lasted about four minutes and fifty seconds..."

"And this time?" Hikari asked softly, Kagome noticing her mother's hand shaking slightly as she brought it thoughtfully to her lips. Kagome didn't want to worry her, but she knew that she had to tell the truth...

"I didn't pass out. I was really tired after and Inuyasha didn't make me feel much better. I got aggrivated and got Kilala to bring me home. When I slipped off of her back, I felt dizzy and heavy again. I probably should have waited until it passed to jump into the well because it got worse when I was falling...I almost got sick..._almost_. I didn't, though. Now I just feel tired...and still kinda heavy, but that comes with being tired," Kagome fidgitted as she looked back up at her mom, noticing how thoughtful and worried she looked. Guilt nagged at Kagome, but there wasn't much she could do about it... "I'm okay, mom. I promise. We'll get this figured out soon."

"Oh...," Hikari gasped as she looked up at her brave, smiling daughter. Slowly, she returned the smile. "Mmm." She nodded. "I hope so." _'I hope so, too_,' Kagome added silently in the safe confines of her own mind. "What about the one before the earliest attack we spoke of?" Hikari looked stronger, braver, to Kagome as her hand left her lips and a more determined look crossed her face.

"Umm...," Kagome thought back a moment. "It was the one I had here, my sense of sight heightened. I could see _dust particals _in the air..." Kagome was still overly amazed by that attack. It hadn't hurt...until afterwards...

"Counting back that was...five days from the other attack," Hikari mentally added up in her mind. "It lasted four minutes and fourty seconds." Nodding when she knew she had it right, she blinked, then looked back at her daughter. "The attacks are getting longer and closer together."

"Yeah...," Kagome replied weakly, Hikari turning back to the udon quickly to stir it as it began to simmer. As much as Kagome hated to admit it, it worried her. What would happen if they started happening _every _day? She couldn't just stay home while the others risked their lives to complete the jewel...

"Six days, four minutes and thirty seconds; five days, Four minutes and fourty seconds; five days, four minutes and fifty seconds; five days, five minutes," Hikari listed off the days and times of the attacks. "They're getting steadily closer together and longer..." She trailed off into thought and Kagome was thankful for the silence...until gramps walked in.

"So will her next one be in five days or four?" he added to the conversation as he took a seat at the table. Kagome blinked at him from across the table. "I was listening in from around the corner." He shrugged and Kagome sighed.

"I don't know," Hikari responded softly, a hint of nervousness in her voice as she tended to the udon.

"Before that, there were three times in which her attacks were six days apart, two in which her attacks were seven days apart, seven in which her attacks were two weeks apart, three in which her attacks were three weeks apart and three in which they were a month apart...and that goes back about to the start of them," Ji-san informed them, a paper in his hand. "I went ahead and recorded her attack from this time on our time table. I think the next one will be in four days."

"That sounds about right...," Hikari reluctantly agreed with him. "When are you leaving, Kagome?"

"Tomorrow," Kagome sighed.

"Can you be home two days after that?" Hikari surprised her daughter. "So you're home for the fourth day, to see if we're right?" _'Inuyasha is __**so **__going to kill me_...,' Kagome groaned silently. _'And this is __**really **__taking time away from the shard hunt_...'

"I could try- no promises, though," Kagome offered up the best she could. There was a long moment of silence as Ji-san sighed tiredly.

"Is Inuyasha coming to get you in the morning?" Hikari surprised Kagome.

"Umm...no, I said I would meet them in Edo," Kagome answered.

"Could you bring Inuyasha back _here _for a moment, then?" her mom asked sweetly, making Kagome blink up at the older woman in surprise. "I just want to talk to him for a moment."

"Uhh...sure...," Kagome agreed slowly, a bit confusedly. What could her mom say that would change Inuyasha's mind?

"Thank you, dear," Hikari smiled as she turned back to the stove. Kagome completely missed her grandfather's amused smirk of a smile as he pulled out a newspaper and hid his face behind it, pretending to read it. '_I am __**definantly **__missing something...,' _Kagome blinked as she looked between her mom and gramps. Just like that, the worrying topic was completely dropped. Kagome couldn't say that she wasn't happy about it...but it was still odd.

"You're welcome...," Kagome mumbled. "Umm...where's Sota?"

"Sora's house," Gramps informed her. "They had a date today, but he should be coming home in a little while. Maybe around eight or nine."

"Oh...okay," Kagome nodded as a small smile crossed her face. _'That little rascal_,' she smiled silently. '_I'm glad he and Sora are still together. They make __**such **__a cute couple_.' She sighed wistfully. _'If only __**my **__love life could be as simple and easy_...' She discarded the thought as soon as it had come. While things could get confusing and difficult, she still honestly loved Inuyasha. Just being at his side would be enough for now.

"The udon is ready," Hikari called, turning the stove off. She placed the hot pot on the table and quickly got Kagome a bowl and chopsticks.

"Thanks, mom," Kagome smiled, feeling an odd sense of normalcy return. She didn't realize how much she'd missed that feeling until now... "Ikadekimasu!" Kagome clapped her hands together once before digging in.

"Do you need help up the stairs?" Ji-san asked gently as Kagome walked to the bottom landing of the flight of stairs.

"Nah, I'll be fine," Kagome waved off with a smile. "I feel a little better after eating and I'm not heavy or dizzy anymore."

"That's good," Ji-san nodded somewhat energetically. "Are you going to bed now, then?"

"Yeah...I'm still pretty tired," Kagome nodded. '_I'll say hey to Sota in the morning, if I can_,' she added a silent memo to her mind. "Good night, Ji-san, momma." Hikari was entering the room, having just washed Kagome's dish.

"Good night," Ji-san nodded back to her.

"Have a good night, sweetie," Hikari bid back to her as Kagome smiled and ascended the stairs and dissappeared into her room around the corner, the door sliding shut behind her. They watched her door for a long moment, the strip of light flickering off from underneath her door, indicating that she had turned her light out and was in bed.

"I don't think it'll help much, but we'll have to do it tonight," Ji-san spoke softly to his daughter-in-law. Their dark eyes caught, the older set carefully guarded and the younger set weary with worry.

"Yes...I know," Hikari agreed softly, her arms hugging her slender torso. "Father...Kurogane-san...do you think...that she'll be alright...?"

"Yes...I think she will be _just _fine, Hikari," Kurogane, Hikari's father-in-law, nodded with a small smile on his face. Hikari noticed that, for just an instant, his face didn't hold the age that it normally did. "Kagome's a strong girl. I believe that she'll push past this rough patch with only minor difficulties. You should be proud of her- she's done _so _well so far. Kyota would have been _very _proud of his two beautiful children."

"Yes...you're right," Hikari gave the man a tearful smile. "He _would _be proud of them...I am, too." She turned her dark tear-filled eyes up towards her daughter's room. "I guess I'm just worried about this 'rough patch'..." Kurogane nodded in understanding. "I know that it's my own fault that this is happening-"

"Kyota had just as much fault in it as you," Kurogane added in, gaining Hikari's attention again. She nodded solemnly, a small smile still lingering on her lips.

"I know that it's _our _fault that this is happening, that we _knew, _to _some _extent,what we were getting into...," she started again, getting an approving nod from the man. "...but I still worry for her, for them. We were _really _lucky that I was even _able _to give birth to them. What happens if...if..." She trailed off, the words hitched in her throat. Hikari's heart was ripping apart. The tears flowed freely down her face and Kurogane gently pulled the taller woman into an embrace.

"Shh, shh...," Kurogane cooed to his daughter-in-law. "It's going to be alright. You won't lose them, I promise."

"How can you be so sure?" Hikari sobbed into his robes.

"Because I won't _let _them die," Kurogane comforted gently. "In case you've forgotten, I've got some tricks up my sleeve and an ace if they don't work out..." Kurogane gently pulled her away and she nodded as she looked at him, attempting to wipe her tears away. He helped her with calloused hands and a tender gaze, a smile quirking at his lips. "Remember! I've got a few favors I can call in from Lord Got-A-Stick-Stuck-Up-His-Ass and Lord Stick can help, even if she _has _slipped away...so you have nothing to worry about, my dear." Hikari couldn't help the soft laughter that bubbled up at Kurogane's nickname for his long-time friend and ally. He grinned, happy to have cheered her up.

"I remember," she nodded slowly, wiping the last of her tears away. "I just...I'm scared. I don't want it to get to that point."

"I don't either, but bad things _do _happen Hikari," Kurogane replied sagely. "I just need you to be prepared in case it _does _happen. You have to keep calm and we'll get her to the Lord's house as quickly as we can. Alright?"

"Okay," Hikari agreed, taking a breath and renewing her strength. It surprised her sometimes just how calm, cool, and collected Kurogane could be.

"In the meantime, we keep doing what we do to help and she can endure the rest," Kurogane added, both looking back up to Kagome's room. "Sota won't be home for at least an hour. Do you want to go ahead and do it?" Kurogane's dark eyes turned back to Hikari, the woman nodding as she slowly turned her gaze back to him.

"Yes," she answered softly. "This is all that I can do to help, so I want to do it."

"Well said," Kurogane inclined his head. With a nod to each other, they began scaling the stairs, headed to Kagome's room.

**\- End Chapter 1 -**

\- CLIFFY!

\- Sorry guys! I didn't want to give _everything _away...so you're left with a cliff-hanger. Can you figure out what's going on with Kagome? What's up between Hikari and Kurogane? Who is Kurogane's friend (_that _one shouldn't be _too _hard to figure out...)? What did Hikari and Kyota do that affected their children? Will Kagome..._die_?

I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out. XP

\- Please Review!


	2. Chapter 2

**The Forbidden Ones**

**Author: Reflection of a Broken Dream**

**Pairing: It's a Surprise!**

**Quick Note:**

\- I'm very sorry this took so long. ;.;

\- I wrote this chapter with slight pain from a recently pulled tooth and bandaged burnt fingers, so if you find some weirdly misspelled words, I'm very sorry! It's hard to concentrate on typing when dealing with pain and bandaged fingers... v.v

(I was making my daughter donkey ears for an upcoming Christmas play when it happened. The gray painting of the headband went well, and I got the ears cut from felt...but when hot-gluing the ears to the headband with white cotton in the ears to look like fur and also to cover up the messy seams...well...hot glue got stuck to my fingers and wouldn't come off. The burns were a lot worse than what I usually get because I'm usually able to peel the glue right off...but not this time. The glue seared three of my fingers pretty badly. I had to peel the skin off and pop blisters twice to get the fluid out and that last time I went ahead and took the blistered under layer of skin off- oooowwwwwiiiieeee!- and put on ointment and bandaids.

Moral of the story: Be careful using hot glue. IT BURNS! lol.

...And typing with bandages on your fingers is kind of really irritating...)

\- On a lighter note...mention of Yu Yu characters in this chapter! Next Chapter is Crossover! Yay! Closer than I originally thought!

\- I hope ya'll enjoy!

\- Please review!

\- Hikari = Kagome's mom  
\- Kurogane = Kagome's Ji-san or Gramps  
\- Kyota = Kagome's deceased dad, Hikari's late husband, Kurogane's deceased son

**Japanese Words**:

**Reiki **\- Spirit Energy

**Rekai **\- Spirit World

**Kami **\- God

**Youki **\- Demon Energy

**Youkai **\- Demon

**Inu **\- Dog

**Nekomata **\- Fire Cat

**Kitsune **\- Fox Demon

**Kit **\- Kid Kitsune

**Makai **\- Demon World

**Hanyou **\- Half Demon

**Ningen **\- Human

**Ji-San **\- What Kagome Calls Her Grandpa

**Ningenkai **\- Human World

**Taijiya **\- Demon Slayer

**Monk **\- Priest

**Miko **\- Priestess

**Edo **\- Fuedal Era Tokyo

**Ikadekimasu **\- What One Says Before They Eat- It's Polite, Thanking Person For The Meal

\- **Glamour **\- disguise created by youki that distorts the owner of the youki's appearance to what he/she wants you to see. It can be an ongoing technique that slowly drains youki over time or it can be a youki-infused item/cloth that keeps the appearance up without the depletion of youki.

**Disclaimer**:

Nope. Don't own 'em. Storyline is mine, but that's it. :P

**NOTE:**

Thank you everyone for the reviews and your patience! I apologize for the wait, RL has a way of grabbing on sometimes and not letting go... Don't worry, though. I intend to finish my stories. It may not be soon that I finish them...but I _will _finish them. Thank you for pointing that out, deebeth89. I get overly excited sometimes and spell things how they sound instead of how they are _supposed _to be spelled... (Having no spell-check sucks, too.) I made the necissary changes and will update soon. Thank you for telling me that about Oden, too...I looked it up and I changed a bit of the story to fit the new dish. :3

erica, you gave me a brilliant idea. Check out Flaming Relations, one of my new stories. It's based on the idea you gave me. XD

P.S. I got a new laptop for Christmas! My parents are the BEST! (So's Rent-A-Center and their Black Friday Deals! lol.) So maybe- MAYBE, if RL works with me- I can dish out a couple to a few chappies of some of my stories a month now. No promises, but _maybe _now that I can work on stories more now that I can get on my compy at any given time. :3

**The Forbidden Ones**

**Chapter 2: Family Matters**

Kagome jerked awake in bed, her body drenched in cold sweat as she panted softly. Wary azure eyes scanned the room before she allowed herself to relax. "It was just a dream," she sighed as she collapsed back against her pillow. "But it felt so _real_..." Kagome's mind tried to conjure the nightmare as her breath began calming. It was fuzzy...but she remembered two figures cloaked in shadows standing at her bedside. They were chanting words in a foreign language or a spell...and then the pain started. That was what she remembered most vividly- the rolling tides of searing electricity travelling through every vein, an unseen brute force that squeezed the air from her lungs, and a liquid fire that ignited in her blood, burning every inch of her body. The pain was excrutiating. She could still remember it clearly, even now... Goosebumps rose on her arms from the cold sweat and Kagome found herself chilled in the cool morning air. "Bath...I need a bath..." Maybe _that _would make her feel better... Groaning as she sat up, Kagome peered at her alarm clock. It was five-thirty. She was used to waking up about this early, but she still felt exhausted. She blamed that on the vivid nightmare she'd had as she slowly rose from her comfortable bed and shuffled into her bathroom. "Maybe I'll forget it in a while..." Her optimism rose with the thought as she shut the bathroom door. 

Half an hour later, Kagome was clean and dressed in jeans and a warm sweater. She'd abandoned her school clothes when she'd gotten out of school, using the last of her uniforms that summer. Now she dressed practically in more durable- and warmer- clothing.

"Good morning," Kagome bid as she sat at the breakfast table, her gramps sitting in his usual chair with a paper in his hands and Sota sat across from her, scarfing his breakfast.

"You're back?" Sota asked in surprise as his cerulean eyes found hers. At ten years old, he was practically as tall as _she _was...

"Yeah, but I go back after breakfast," Kagome replied with a sigh as her mother set another plate of eggs on the table in front of her daughter. She didn't miss Sota's sympathetic look, but she didn't outwardly acknowledge it, either. "Thanks mom." She smiled up at the warmly-smiling older woman.

"You're welcome, Kagome, eat up," Hikari encouraged, motioning to the table. "There's toast, bacon, and sausage, too."

"I will," Kagome promised, taking in the savory scent of breakfast. As good as it smelled...she really didn't feel all that hungry. But, as not to worry anyone, she got a little of each item on her plate.

"Are you feeling alright this morning?" her Ji-san surprised her, the man folding his newspaper and setting it aside. "You look a bit pale..."

"I'm fine," Kagome nodded reassuringly. "Ikadekimasu!" She clapped her hands together and began nibbling on her eggs. She _did _feel a bit guilty about not telling them about her dream...she was supposed to tell them about _anything _that wasn't quite right with her because it _could _be linked to her attacks. _'After Sota leaves_,' she vowed to herself, knowing that the boy wouldn't be staying long. He still had school to go to and she didn't want to worry him more than he was about her. It didn't take long for Sota to finish eating and snatch up his bookbag from the back of his chair.

"Bye mom, Ji-san, see you this afternooon," he bid, getting like replies in return, before looking at Kagome. "See you, sis. Be careful out there and visit again soon, kay?"

"Alright, thank you, Sota," Kagome nodded with a small, warm smile on her face. He beamed back at her before rushing out so that he could get to school on time. Kagome waited until she heard the door shut before she looked back at her gramps. "I _did _have a nightmare last night...a very vivid and...painful...nightmare."

"Oh?" Kurogane questioned with a blink of surprise, Hikari joining them at the table with her own plate of eggs.

"What happened in your nightmare?" Hikari asked gently, her expression showing her worry.

"I remember there being two figures there...I couldn't tell who or what they were because of the darkness...but I remember the pain," Kagome hesitantly told them, recounting it in her mind. "It felt like I was suffocating, being electrocuted, and burned all at the same time. I wanted to scream and cry out...but I couldn't make a sound. Then I woke up in a cold sweat..." Too busy picking at her food with her chopsticks, she didn't see Hikari and Kurogane share a mildly shocked look. Quickly covering it up, Hikari gently placed her hand on Kagome's.

"That sounds horrible...," she breathed out, knowing that _they _were the cause of such pain. It couldn't be avoided, though...

"Might be part of your attacks," Kurogane grunted, using that as a cover-up for the spell they'd preformed on Kagome the previous night. They hadn't anticipated her waking up or _remembering _the ordeal..._that _hadn't happened before...

"That's what I thought, too," Kagome relieved them a bit. She bought it! Relief coursed through both Hikari and Kurogane. "I just didn't want to say anything in front of Sota...he has enough to worry about without adding _me _that list. " Hikari couldn't help a small smile from touching her face. Kagome was so considerate...

"It might be better to keep it from him for now," Hikari agreed softly, patting her daughter's hand lovingly before looking over at Kurogane. "Could you add that to the list, father?"

"Of course," Kurogane started, taking out the list from his pocket and adding the nightmare to the paper. "All the more reason to have you back in a couple days, Kagome. If you have any more painful nightmares, you need to tell us alright?"

"I will," Kagome reassured with a nod.

"Please eat, Kagome," Hikari encouraged, moving Kagome's hand back towards her plate. "You need to keep your strength up."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Kagome nodded with a soft sigh as she started eating again, however reluctantly it was. She knew she needed the energy and strength to go on today- it would be hard. _'Hopefully I won't have another nightmare like __**that **__one...or I'm going to be __**very **__tired from here on out...,' _she mused despairingly.

"Ikadekimasu," Hikari clapped her hands softly before starting in on her own plate, the rest of breakfast companionably silent.

"Done," Kagome finished her plate with a sigh. "Now I need to get my bag packed..."

"I went ahead and filled it for you," Hikari surprised her daughter as she pulled the bag out from under the table. "I put in enough food to last a few days and I refilled your medical box. You were getting low on gauze and antibiotics."

"Thanks, mom," Kagome gave a smile full of relief. Hikari was happy to be able to help her daughter, however slightly. She couldn't interfere with the time-travelling or help her out there, as informed by a friend, but she could help in other ways...to make her life a _little _easier, at least. Hikari stood with the bag in hand and gave it to Kagome, who took it gratefully. "I'll be back...probably in fifteen minutes or so with Inuyasha, then we'll head out."

"Alright, dear, be careful," Hikari bid.

"I'll get my sutras ready," Ji-san grinned impishly.

"Gramps," Kagome warned, though a smile threatened to pull at her lips.

"Fine, fine," the man pouted, eliciting a small giggle from his grandchild. "We'll see you in a few minutes."

"Okay," Kagome nodded as she made her way out of the house, stopping only to put her tennis shoes on. Hikari and Kurogane waited until the door shut before they dared to talk again, and even then they only dared to use soft voices.

"Well...this is certainly progressing quickly," Kurogane admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"How was she able to wake during the spell?" Hikari asked quietly as she looked at her father-in-law with a dazed look. "She should have stayed asleep. She wouldn't have felt the pain...just the after-effects of it this morning..."

"She's getting stronger, Hikari," Kurogane replied simply. "While good for her current situation...it's not good for _us_. If she can wake during the spell, sooner or later she'll be able to figure out that _we're_ casting it. She won't know why we're doing it or why she's in so much pain..." He sighed heavily as Hikari looked away, hesitation clearly in her gaze. '_It's not going to be fun telling her why she's going through what she's going through...but it's for the best_,' Kurogane decided. _'Kagome will find out one day, anyway, one way or the other...' _"We have to tell her about her heritage. It's the only way to put her at ease about what's going on with her body and her reiki- the spells won't hold out much longer against the transformation, anyway." Hikari snapped her head back to look at him, a startled look on her face.

"Are you sure it's time?" Hikari asked softly, fear evident in her lively chestnut orbs.

"Not when she comes back, but when she comes home again," Kurogane reassured, easing some of Hikari's tightly-wound nerves. "I'll get ahold of a friend of mine to come and look at her when she goes through her attack, to help us get a feel of how much longer she has before she undergoes a full transformation, spells aside."

"Okay...," Hikari agreed slowly, putting her full trust in Kurogane. He had friends in very high places...she did, too, but she couldn't visit them like she used to. Makai was a very hard place to get into nowadays... "Who will you be contacting?"

"Ah...an old kitsune thief I think you might've heard of before...," Kurogane smirked as Hikari's eyes widened.

"You don't mean...you know _him_?" Amazement showed through Hikari's voice and glittered brightly in her eyes.

"Yes," Kurogane chuckled. "Youko Kurama. I saved his tail once in my long life and he owes me a _big _favor. I'm going to call it in. He's the most intelligent contact I have...even though we haven't spoken in...what...three hundred years?"

"That's a long time...," Hikari noted with a surprised blink. "Do you even know where he is now?"

"I'm not sure, to tell you the truth," Kurogane's admission dashed her hopes a bit. "But...I've heard word over the years that he, along with a couple of half-breeds, has shaken Makai up. There's a new system with a single king in place."

"Wow...," Hikari sighed, her eyes wide again. "I didn't think the old system would _ever _change...with the three kings, Mukuro, Yomi, and Raizen."

"Rumor is that Raizen's dead," Kurogane further shocked his daughter-in-law. "And that one of the half-breeds was his descendant. They fought for the new system, as well as having fought _in _the tournament that ensued. They didn't win it, but they all got out alive. Mukuro and Yomi both fought in the tournament, as well, but neither won. Seeing Mukuro is your friend and loyal ally...I thought I could ask her where Youko might be."

"She'll probably be able to tell you," Hikari nodded, excited that she might hear from an old friend again. "Oh! Would it be alright if I wrote a letter? Could you deliver it to her for me?"

"Of course," Kurogane chuckled, then tilted his head to the side. "But first thing's first. They're back. You need to..._convince _Inuyasha to to come back in two days."

"Right...right...," Hikari nodded, refocusing her mind on the new task at hand. She was probably going to have to be stern with him...but it wasn't going to be easy now that she was happy and excited... With a sigh, she stood and took her plate and stacked Kagome's on top, putting them both in the sink. She glanced back at Kurogane, the man chuckling as he pulled his paper up again and pretended to read it. "I thought you were going to...?"

"I will," Kurogane nodded. "But I wouldn't miss _this _for anything." He grinned into his paper. Hikari let out a soft sigh as she smiled and shook her head at the man.

"I'm back," Kagome called as the door opened, shuffling heard as she removed her shoes.

"We're in the kitchen, dear," Hikari called back to her daughter. Soon the soft thumping of feet against the hardwood floor was heard and the two came into view, Inuyasha holding Kagome's large yellow bag.

"What's goin' on?" Inuyasha asked immediately, his eyes trained on Kurogane, who was snickering behind his paper. Inuyasha couldn't see him, but his eyes narrowed at the man.

"Inuyasha," Hikari hailed, the boy slowly turning his amber eyes back to her. "I have a request, and I need you to abide it."

"Um...sure...what's up?" he asked somewhat awkwardly as Kagome shifted nervously in place.

"I think we've figured out the next piece of the pattern in Kagome's attacks," Hikari spoke, straightforward. She noticed an instant seriousness in the boy. Good. He needed to take this seriously. "I need her back in two days so that we can see if it's going to happen when we believe it is. The attack should occur the following day and last five minutes and ten seconds, if we're right."

"If not?" he asked uncertainly.

"It'll happen the following day and last that amount of time," Hikari replied easily. "But we think it will happen in four days because of the way it's progressed."

"But...we heard rumors toward the west...it's gonna take time to get over there and back," Inuyasha frowned. "More than two days' time."

"I need Kagome back in _two days_, young man," Hikari insisted, using her stern motherly voice that had him bristling in place. She knew it made him uncomfortable, but she _had _to use it. "I have someone coming that might be able to help her. Ji-san will be contacting him later today."

"You have a lead?" Kagome asked, hope in her voice as her azure eyes glowed with the emotion.

"We _might_," Ji-san nodded as he finally put his paper aside and folded his hands atop the table. "I have an inkling he can help and I know who to contact to find out where he lives now, so I can go and see him in person. Haven't seen the old coot in ages, but he's as smart as they come and he's seen odd things like this before. Chances are high that he can help and we can figure out what, exactly, is causing your attacks."

"Can he stop them?" Inuyasha asked, hope lighting his own features up. "Can he cure her?"

"In a manner of speaking...yes, I believe he can," Ji-san nodded.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Kagome asked, lunging forwards and hugging her surprised Ji-san. He could feel the hope and relief rolling off of her in waves.

"I had to confirm something first," he replied softly, returning her embrace. "And now I know someone who will know where he lives." She pulled away, but kept her focus on him. "Old coot can't hide from me now! I honestly thought he was dead for a while there..." Kagome smiled a little at her gramps.

"I'm glad you'll be getting up with an old friend...and I really hope he can help me," Kagome spoke as she slowly pulled away from him, the man just as slowly releasing her from his hold.

"Me, too," he grinned toothily at her. "And I believe he _will _be able to help." His dark eyes turned back to a silently excited Inuyasha. "That's why we need you back in two days. Will you bring her back by then?"

"Yeah...sure," Inuyasha nodded, suprisingly easily obliging their request now. "If this guy can heal her...I'll bring her back, myself."

"Good man," Ji-san nodded his approval of the boy's decision. _'He's not an idiot __**all **__the time_,' Kurogane mused silently. Looking back at a smiling Kagome, he gently patted her arm. "Go ahead and get going. You've got a lot to do, it seems."

"Right," Kagome nodded with a renewed vigor, all traces of weariness from her uneasy sleep gone. "We'll see you in two days, mom, Ji-san." She pecked his cheek and ran over to her mother for a tight hug.

"Be careful, Kagome," Hikari whispered into her ear as they slowly released one another.

"Always," Kagome beamed at her mother.

"See you soon," Kurogane waved as Kagome made her way back to Inuyasha, the inu crouching so she could get on his back.

"Bye!" Kagome managed to get out before they were off, Inuyasha grabbing her shoes before they headed out the door. Hikari looked back at Kurogane, the man holding up a hand and listening. After a long moment, he nodded.

"They're gone," he spoke and Hikari let out a soft breath. Two more days and everything would be revealed... _'I hope she doesn't hate us for our decisions...,' _Hikari sighed to herself silently as she locked eyes with her father-in-law. "Go ahead and write your letter and I'll get ready to go. If I tell baby-faced Koenma it's an emergency- which it is- he should grant me instant access to Makai."

"Just don't tell him what the emergency is," Hikari nodded to him, a hint of nervousness returning to her being.

"I won't," he promised. "I'll be sure he doesn't know _anything _about his ex-employee and her family. He might have a heart-attack if he learned one of his best, brightest, and most powerful retirees had mated and settled down with a demon." Kurogane shot her an amused grin. Hikari raised her brow and sent him a chiding look even as her own lips threatened to curl into a smile. "Of course he didn't know you were unbiased and often helped decent rogue demons..." He chuckled as her lips finally curved into a smile. "That's the quality that won you so many allies, you know. Kagome takes after you, Hikari, and that is a very good thing."

"I agree with you," Hikari inclined her head. "The ability to accept people for what they are, no matter _what _they may be, is something I had hoped to instill into her from an early age. Discrimination begets hatred and violence...but acceptance begets serenity and love. I couldn't be prouder of my daughter."

"Yes, and she's changing the world as we know it," Kurogane chuckled. "Or, well...rather, she's molding it into the society that it is, but she changes everyone she comes into contact with, filling them with love and hope. I've had several different demons approach me through Lord-Stick-In-The-Ass, who have asked when her journies will be over so they can talk to her again."

"Call him by his name," Hikari chided, lightly hitting the man on his arm.

"Is that the best you can do?" Kurogane teased, earning himself another chiding look from the woman he considered his daughter. "Alright, alright." He put his hands up in surrender. "Lord Sesshoumaru. There. I said his true name."

"_Thank you_," Hikari chuckled softly as she shook her head at him. She would never understand why the man tormented the old inu lord like he did...

"Alright, then...time's marching on," Kurogane spoke and Hikari caught him glancing up at the clock. "This is going to take a while...so...you get on that letter, I'll get supplies, and then I'll be off."

"Alright," Hikari agreed, Kurogane striding quickly from the room to get a travel pack together. She went to her room, got a piece of paper out and a pen, and quickly wrote a short note to her old friend, Mukuro. "Done." She smiled at the paper, slipping it in an envelope before she put the pen back up.

"Hikari...I'm ready to leave," Kurogane called. "Have you got the letter?"

"Yes...I'm coming," Hikari called back, walking from her room back to the dining room. Kurogane stood there with a messenger bag clinging to his small frame, the old man dressed in a black tee-shirt and a pair of baggy green cargo pants. "Aren't you going to...?"

"Oh...yes," Kurogane smiled at Hikari. "Almost forgot." Light encompassed his form and Hikari put her hands over her eyes to block out the bright light. After a long moment, the light died out and she removed her hands from her face. An old man no longer stood before her, but a youthful demon with obsidian hair and eyes the color of polished silver. His glamour had been dropped. "That feels _sooo _much better..." He groaned as he stretched, moving his muscular arms and torso about, the black shirt clinging to him now like a wet rag. Large kitsune ears, much like Inuyasha's ears but much bigger, flicked atop his head and his silky tail swished to and fro joyously. "It's not often I can revert to my true humanoid form like this." He smiled a handsome smile at Hikari that she returned whole-heartedly.

"I miss seeing you like this," she admitted softly, stepping closer to her demon father-in-law.

"Is it because of your fetish?" He grinned as her hands found his ears, an angry flush moving across her cheeks.

"It is _not _a fetish!" Hikari scowled as he chuckled, leaning into her touch.

"Well, either way...," he shrugged. "I don't mind being petted by my daughter." He purred into her hands, Hikari holding in a giggle as his body vibrated with the pur. It was like petting a huge cat... "Though...you should talk to Kagome about petting male's ears. She shares your...like of it. If she pet the wrong man's ears...she might wind up on her back before she could blink..."

"Yes...I've realized that," Hikari sighed softly as she slowly stopped scratching his ears and pulled her hands away. He silently mourned the loss of her dull nails...that felt _gooood_... "But I can't speak with her about it without giving away that I know more about youkai than I've told her I do- which is little to nothing."

"Ahh...true, that," He nodded contemplatively. "Soon, then. After two days." She nodded. "Letter?"

"Oh!" Hikari gasped, fumbling for a moment before pulling it out of her dress pocket. "Here we are..." She held it up and he gently took it from her fingers. "Give Mukuro a hug for me."

"If I can get close to her," Kurogane inclined his head with a soft chuckle. "Be back soon." He gave her a quick half-hug and a peck on the cheek that she happily returned before backing away. With a nod from him, shadows enveloped his form and he slowly dissappeared from view.

"That shadow transportation technique of his is really handy...," Hikari sighed to herself as she looked at the small pile of dishes in the sink. "Now all I can do is wait..." With another, more restless, sigh, Hikari ran the water and began washing the dishes.

**\- End Chapter 2 -**

\- Interesting, ne? Hikari is a retired employee of Koenma's. Kurogane is a full-blooded shadow fox demon...and so was his son, Kyota- Hikari's husband and mate. What does that mean for Kagome and Sota? Is that the cause of her attacks? Why aren't they hanyou? Find out more in the next chapter!

\- Hope ya'll enjoyed!

\- Please review!

\- BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! XD


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